Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit

Donna and Tom invited us to stay in their time share at the Grand Luxxe Hotel Nuevo Vallarta, just north of the city of Puerto Vallarta. They were flying standby from Atlanta, so while they were waiting for available airplane seats in the US, Edd and I prepared to check in to the hotel.

Going to a fancy resort didn’t mean that our Spartan mentality wavered, no. We stocked up on groceries at Chedraui beforehand, and Edd was damned if any bellboy was going to carry them up to the room for us! Especially after we handed over the keys to our beloved house and paid for the obligatory valet parking!

Donna and Tom arrived late Friday night, sadly without luggage. Their carry-on bag made it, but it was full of little goodies that we had ordered to their house: lights for our bicycles, a new flashlight, a Haynes car manual, etc. We are so grateful that they schlepped our stuff for us, but they were only left with their swimsuits!

Donna wearing one of my old tees while her nice clothes are lost in the air, somewhere between Atlanta and Mexico City

Fortunately bathing suits were really the only attire needed, because we spent most of the time by the many pools in the resort.

Donna in the plunge pool on our deckDonna at the Spa Tower pool near where we enjoyed mojitos and creamy mango daquirisEdd at the Punta pool

Of course walking to and from the poolside wasn’t our only fatburning activity; we also joined a water aerobics class one day! Our instructor had everyone counting their movements in Spanish and occasionally shouting in pain. My arms were killing me.

I also managed to get to the gym a few times, which was a true luxury.

Getting ready for the water aerobics with the enthusiastic instructor Delfino

Twice, we all piled into our van to go to the airport in search of the missing luggage. Donna and I sat in the back at the dinette, holding onto the table as Edd maneuvered through Puerto Vallarta traffic. But we were happy to save money not taking taxis, as the road leading out of the resort was 3.5 km long! Finally on Monday the luggage arrived. I think they were both relieved.

These guys had just gotten their luggage! Happy days!Donna and us with the mountains of the Sierra Madre in the backgroundTry and look relaxed guys!

We really enjoyed cooking and eating meals in the room, which had a well-equipped kitchen. Edd and I fixed burgers, quesadillas and tuna pasta (which Donna showed us how to make with sardines), and Donna made a ravioli one night with a scrumptious garlicky Alfredo sauce. Dinner of course was paired with plenty of wine. And one day Edd made VERY STRONG margaritas using the Hornitos tequila we had bought on our tour. Cheers!

One of our breakfasts on the back deck

On the last night, Tom and Donna treated us to a pizza dinner at one of the restaurants in the resort. Back at the room, Donna and I had more wine and then a Donald Trump rantfest. Wine and whine. Sometimes it’s good to touch base with your compatriots!

We finally have a place to put on our nice clothes! Haha! Photo courtesy of DonnaWalking the trails around the huge resortTom waving goodbye. Photo courtesy of DonnaUs with Tom and Donna before our departure. Photo courtesy of Donna

We said goodbye on Wednesday morning. Donna and Tom, we had a really fun time seeing you guys again. We’re going to miss sleeping on feather pillows in a cool air-conditioned room! Thanks so much for everything!

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parkthehouse

Melissa is from the Michigan but has lived and traveled abroad for over ten years. She's worked as a teacher and a translator and has recently finished an MA in Translation. She knows Spanish, some pitiful French, some Arabic, and can even understand her husband's English accent most times.
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5 thoughts on “Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit”

Aww…We miss you guys already! It was so much fun reconnecting with you two. Great resort, great food and DRINK(S), Edd was our mixologist suprema with the tequila, whew!!! and most of all, a score of 100 on the Fun Meter!!!
Think we all needed to “recharge”!! Tom and I are still laughing about Melissa, in perfect Spanish, going 3 rounds with the maids and concierge in our hotel, they were just trying to get a damn duvet after all, not to mention the Security guards at the airport!!! Wish I had a picture, Melissa with a whisk in her hand, yelling at the Guard! The guy proceeds to take out his radio, really thought he was calling the Policia!!! lol….He deserved it, he was “el era un idiota”!!
Look forward to our next hook-up, somewhere! Such a big world, such little time…..
Stay safe guys!
Donna and Tom
xoxoxo

Hey Donna! Just going through these posts and JUST noticed this! Oh I’m glad you read it. We had a really fun time. Yes I have tried to be less scary with these guys, and more patient! You’re right; such little time, and I wanted everything to be perfect! Five days was such a short time. We can’t thank you enough for bringing all the Amazon goodies. We have used the ‘swivel stick’; we’ve just used it to clean the tank and it worked great! I’ll have to post pictures of us using it. Hope you guys are well. xxxxooooxxxx

I have an Aunt Donna and Uncle Tom who love to travel. It sounds like you have a similar Donna and Tom to hang out with. Your luxury resort experience looks similar to the one we just had on Maui (nice pool!)…but we, unfortunately, were without kitchen amenities. Rob stuck it to them, though, by getting pho at a “Vietnamese to go” place 3 times.

Hey Julie! That’s so weird about the other Donna and Tom! Haha! They are longtime friends of Edd’s mom, so they’re almost like family! How was the pho to go? 😊 I’m glad you had a good time and treated yourself. Going to check out your pics later.